Isoform-Specific Subcellular Localization and Function of Protein
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RESEARCH ARTICLE Isoform-specific subcellular localization and function of protein kinase A identified by mosaic imaging of mouse brain Ronit Ilouz1*, Varda Lev-Ram1, Eric A Bushong2, Travis L Stiles3, Dinorah Friedmann-Morvinski4,5, Christopher Douglas3, Jeffrey L Goldberg3, Mark H Ellisman2,6, Susan S Taylor1,7* 1Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States; 2Center for Research in Biological Systems, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, United States; 3Department of Ophthalmology, Shiley Eye Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States; 4Laboratory of Genetics, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, United States; 5Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, George S Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; 6Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, United States; 7Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States Abstract Protein kinase A (PKA) plays critical roles in neuronal function that are mediated by different regulatory (R) subunits. Deficiency in either the RIb or the RIIb subunit results in distinct neuronal phenotypes. Although RIb contributes to synaptic plasticity, it is the least studied isoform. Using isoform-specific antibodies, we generated high-resolution large-scale immunohistochemical *For correspondence: rilouz@ mosaic images of mouse brain that provided global views of several brain regions, including the ucsd.edu (RI); [email protected] (SST) hippocampus and cerebellum. The isoforms concentrate in discrete brain regions, and we were able to zoom-in to show distinct patterns of subcellular localization. RIb is enriched in dendrites and Competing interests: The co-localizes with MAP2, whereas RIIb is concentrated in axons. Using correlated light and electron authors declare that no microscopy, we confirmed the mitochondrial and nuclear localization of RIb in cultured neurons. To competing interests exist. show the functional significance of nuclear localization, we demonstrated that downregulation of Funding: See page 20 RIb, but not of RIIb, decreased CREB phosphorylation. Our study reveals how PKA isoform specificity is defined by precise localization. Received: 10 May 2016 DOI: 10.7554/eLife.17681.001 Accepted: 03 January 2017 Published: 12 January 2017 Reviewing editor: Mary B Kennedy, California Institute of Introduction Technology, United States Precise spatiotemporal regulation of signaling molecules is central to the intricacies of signal trans- duction. cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA), which is ubiquitously expressed in every mammalian Copyright Ilouz et al. This cell, regulates numerous signaling pathways and is critical for many neuronal functions. These include article is distributed under the learning and memory (Kandel, 2012) and multiple forms of synaptic plasticity (Abel et al., 1997; terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which Yasuda et al., 2003). Pharmacological or genetic inhibition of PKA severely affects the induction of permits unrestricted use and hippocampal long-term potentiation and inhibits synaptic plasticity and long-lasting memory redistribution provided that the (Abel et al., 1997). A reduction in PKA signaling contributes to the etiology of several neurodegen- original author and source are erative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease (Dagda and Das Banerjee, credited. 2015; Howells et al., 2000). Phosphorylation mediated by cAMP signaling is critically involved in Ilouz et al. eLife 2017;6:e17681. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.17681 1 of 23 Research article Cell Biology Neuroscience cell growth, differentiation, apoptosis, synaptic release of neurotransmitters and gene expression (Skalhegg and Tasken, 2000), and a large part of the functional diversity of this kinase results from isoform diversity. Eukaryotic cells express multiple forms of PKA regulatory (R) and catalytic (C) subu- nits. PKA holoenzyme consists of an R-subunit dimer bound to two C- subunits (R2C2). The biochemi- cal and functional features of PKA holoenzymes are largely determined by the structure and the biochemical properties of the regulatory subunits (Ilouz et al., 2012; Taylor et al., 2012; Zhang et al., 2012). There are two classes of R-subunits, RI and RII, which are classified into a and b subtypes (Døskeland et al., 1993; McKnight et al., 1988). Each isoform is encoded by a unique gene and preferentially expressed in different cells and tissues. RIa and RIIa are ubiquitously expressed in every cell, whereas RIb and RIIb expression is more tissue restricted (Cadd and McKnight, 1989). RIb is expressed in brain and spinal cord (Cadd and McKnight, 1989). RIIb is predominantly expressed in brain, endocrine, fat, liver and reproductive tissues (Cadd and McKnight, 1989; Jahnsen et al., 1986). The four R-subunits are functionally non-redundant. Depletion of either the RIb or the RIIb gene in mice resulted in specific neuronal defects. RIIb knockout mice display defects in motor behavior and loss of PKA-mediated neuronal gene expression (Brandon et al., 1998). Hippocampal slices from RIb null mice show a severe deficit in long-term depression and depotentiation at the Schaffer collateral–CA1 synapse. Despite a compensatory increase in the RIa protein levels, hippocampal function was not rescued (Brandon et al., 1995). The composition and specific structural and biochemical properties of PKA holoenzymes (R2C2) account, in part, for differential cellular responses to discrete extracellular signals that activate adenylate cyclase (Taylor et al., 2012). Space-restricted kinase activation provides an extra layer of specificity in PKA signaling. PKA is typically targeted at specific intracellular microdomains through interactions with A-Kinase Anchoring Proteins (AKAPs). Many AKAPs have been identified together with their specific requirements for selective binding to regulatory subunits (Sarma et al., 2010; Wong and Scott, 2004). This spatio-temporal regulation determines the access of proteins to interacting binding partners. AKAPs provide a control mechanism that directs, integrates and locally attenuates the cAMP-initiated cascade. The hallmark signature motif of the AKAPs is an amphipathic helix that binds tightly to the dimerization and docking (D/D) domain of the R-subunits. Recently, a point mutation in the D/D domain of the RIb gene has been associated with a new neurodegenera- tive disease that presents with dementia and Parkinsonism, characterized by specific and abundant accumulation of RIb in neuronal inclusions (Wong et al., 2014). Rigorous cellular characterization of protein localization is a necessary step if we aim to under- stand PKA function in a physiological context. To date, relatively few efforts have attempted to define the subcellular localization of endogenous proteins systematically using imaging-based tech- niques. Currently, RIb, the isoform that has a unique role in synaptic plasticity (Brandon et al., 1995) and has been associated with a neurodegenerative disease, is the least-studied PKA isoform. RIb spatial localization has not been systematically studied due to antibody cross-reactivity with RIa. Furthermore, most of the available RIIb localization data are focused on specific regions of interest; thus the global context of the protein localization is lost. Subcellular cAMP signaling domains are defined by the distinct environments within cellular organelles. The dogma of cAMP-PKA signaling in the nucleus states that, upon cAMP-induced acti- vation of the cytosolic PKA holoenzyme, the C-subunit dissociates from the R-subunit in an isoform- specific manner and translocates into the nucleus by diffusion (Harootunian et al., 1993). Contradic- tory, reports have increasingly proposed the existence of resident pools of nuclear PKA holoenzyme (Jarnaess et al., 2009; Sample et al., 2012; Zippin et al., 2004). While the necessity of a proper nuclear PKA activity for neuronal function is well-documented, neither the existence of PKA R-subu- nits nor their physiological role within the nucleus has been well-studied. In this study, we generated high-resolution large-scale mosaic images of several mouse brain sli- ces using RIb- and RIIb-specific antibodies. As RIb is the least-studied isoform at the protein level, we focused our analyses on brain regions where we expected RIb to be predominant on the basis of its mRNA expression profiles and its predicted functional importance from RIb(–/–) mice. The use of large-scale immunohistochemical brain maps allows us to gain an overview of the RIb and RIIb pro- tein distributions over large areas and then to zoom in to obtain higher-resolution views in order to investigate subcellular features. We found that each regulatory isoform is predominant in distinct brain regions and were able to identify unique and consistent patterns of distribution within the Ilouz et al. eLife 2017;6:e17681. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.17681 2 of 23 Research article Cell Biology Neuroscience hippocampus and the cerebellum. RIb is concentrated in dendrites, and co-localizes with MAP2, whereas RIIb is concentrated in axons. We confirmed the RIb subcellular distribution that emerged from the mosaic images using the mini-Singlet Oxygen Generator (miniSOG), a probe that allowed us to do correlated light and electron microscopy. We found RIb in the mitochondria,